EconDefense
ACQ-31 / Intellectual property and technology transfer

Use patented inventions for the government with compensation liability

28 U.S.C. 1498 supplies a compensation remedy against the United States for patented inventions used/manufactured by or for it without license; contractor protection requires government authorization or consent.

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At a glance

Possible toolACQ-31 · Other statutory tools

Authority holder: United States acting through authorized program/contracting officials; Court of Federal Claims adjudicates compensation

Other statutory tools

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Government use/manufacture or authorized/consented contractor use.
  • Analyze patent, location and remedy prerequisites with IP counsel.

Limits & exclusions

  • Not confiscation of patent ownership or general permission for private-market sales.
  • Does not compel access to trade secrets/technical data; claims arising in foreign countries excluded.
  • Compensation is required; copyright has separate §1498(b) conditions.

Funding conditions

  • Plan for compensation exposure; funding and any settlement/judgment payment route require fiscal review.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Operational requirement owner; Service/component portfolio acquisition executive and program manager

Resources

  • Sponsoring Service/component appropriations manager and comptroller

Approval

  • Service/component acquisition executive and authorized contracting authority, at applicable threshold

Execution

Partners & review

  • User command
  • Counsel, fiscal, engineering, testing, logistics and security staff as applicable

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Program identifies government need → IP counsel compares license purchase and §1498 exposure → authorized contracting action → DOJ/Court of Federal Claims if disputed.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

  • 28 U.S.C. §1498(a)-(c)Primary statutory text; primary GovInfo baseline and amendment audit identified in research narrative.

What this research establishes

Legal powerSource and conditions recorded
EligibilityProject-specific check needed
Available fundsBalances not verified
DelegationValid signature authority must be checked
ExecutionOffice capacity and approvals must be checked

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation. OLRC indexed text dated 2026-09-17; no judicial expansion assumed.

Research target: October 2, 2026. A record-specific last-review date is not supplied. Publication date is not legal-currentness certification.

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